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Our first Signature Class ship, Eurodam epitomizes grace and excellence. Test your music trivia skills at Billboard Onboard or catch a performance at the stunning World Stage. During the day, head to top-level decks to play pickleball at sea amid an ever-changing ocean backdrop or rejuvenate with therapeutic spa treatments at the Spa & Salon.
I thought I'd post a review of my recent 7-day Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam. This was my first time back on HAL after many years. Overall, the experience was satisfactory, and came close to meeting my high expectations. To be fair, all my previous HAL cruises were pre-COVID Grand Voyages as a suite guest, so it might be unreasonable to expect a comparable experience on a cheap and cheerful week-long Caribbean sailing in 2026. On this cruise, service continued to be the high point, but dining was hit-or-miss and speciality dining a terrible disappointment. Here is my detailed review: SERVICE: This is where HAL continues to shine. I've never seen a more thoughtful, engaging, and caring crew at sea. Just one example: An elderly family member had breakfast alone at the buffet a few days in a row, eating only a small plain pastry from the coffee area. One of the bus boys noticed her, brought her a large plate full of fruit and yogurt and granola to "reinvigorate" her, and offered to take her around the busy buffet if she wanted anything else. She was impressed and touched by his thoughtfulness. We experienced several of these magical moments during the week. Many crew members I interacted with briefly, like bar and restaurant servers, stopped to say hello in the corridors days later, asking how everything was, and making a point to remember who I was and who I was traveling with. And after casually mentioning a minor maintenance problem with my stateroom, it was fixed within the hour, and I received a phone call the same evening from Guest Services making sure I was satisfied. SHIP: The Eurodam isn't a young ship. Despite the dated decor, it still looks great, thanks to a hard-working crew that keeps every surface gleaming. Our stateroom was clean and comfortable. PORTS OF CALL: We loved our day at Half Moon Cay. The private island was beautiful and clean, with plenty of room on the beach. It's also worth mentioning that the tender process when in port was extremely efficient and well-organized. I never waited more than five minutes for a boat. ENTERTAINMENT: We had low expectations here and weren't impressed. The musical performers we saw ranged from okay to embarrassingly bad. Several events were cancelled without explanation. Unsurprisingly, enrichment talks were all either sales pitches or the cruise director reading a script out loud. DRINKS: We are not big drinkers and ordered a-la-carte rather than buying a drink package. Beer selection was slim; wine and spirits selection was adequate. Several non-alcoholic options were available. HAL's private-label wines are not fantastic, but they are surprisingly drinkable and a great value. We particularly enjoyed their Riesling. Suggested cocktails were generally too sweet for our tastes. Alcohol prices were reasonable, with beers starting around $7 and wines around $10. Wine bottle prices were also reasonable. Coffee, tea, filtered water, iced tea and lemonade are available free of charge 24 hours a day at the buffet. We were not big fans of the coffee, including their espresso and cold brew varieties, which we felt lacked bitterness and complexity. REGULAR DINING: Although the service at dining venues was uniformly excellent, we were a bit disappointed by the food... Overall, there was an obvious reduction in the quality and cost of ingredients across the board since the pre-COVID era (which is understandable). Shrimp, scallops, and crab are in short supply and of low quality. Lobster is only available for an upcharge, which was promoted very aggressively during the first two days of our voyage. Cheeses are of the supermarket dairy case variety. Costlier dishes, like bagel & lox for breakfast, have been eliminated from the room service menu. Another disappointment was the constant re-use of the same ingredients (again, understandable). We were excited to see short rib at the start of the cruise, for example, until we realized the leftovers would make their way into stir fries, sandwiches, pasta sauces, etc. all week long. There were many example of this which ultimately reduced menu variety and made dining seem more like an exercise in waste reduction rather than gastronomy. Generally, Dining Room and Lido Buffet had some good food. A few dishes (salmon in particular) really blew us away, but fewer than on our last HAL cruise where every meal was a standout. Desserts were a weak point; we learned to steer clear of them after the first few days. The kitchen seemed intent on producing French-style pastries like croissants, tarts and tortes, but seemed to lack the skill to make them well. The "fast food" places, Dive-In and New York Pizza, were inconsistent but usually delightful for a quick snack. Free fast room service was also appreciated, despite the slightly reduced menus for cost-cutting. I should say that, despite my criticism, HAL's regular dining food was better than anything we've had on lower-tier cruise lines like Carnival or NCL. SPECIALTY DINING: This was a huge disappointment, especially after hearing great things about HAL's specialty dining. We dined at Canaletto and Tamarind. Appetizers were good at both venues, but seemed to be mostly gussied-up versions of the same food available at the buffet. But the main dishes were, frankly, inedible. At Canaletto, every pasta dish was overcooked to the point of being a gluey mess. Sauces varied from having no flavor whatsoever to tasting like nothing but salt. Beef was fine but not seemingly any different than what was available at the regular dining spots. Tamarind's mains were just as bad: The curry lacked any subtlety or spice. Stir-fried shrimp were noticeably bigger than those at other dining venues, but were surrounded by undercooked breading and served with a sauce worthy of a food court pan-Asian restaurant. The "crispy" duck wasn't crispy at all; the skin was chewy and greasy, and beneath an unrendered fat cap, the meat was under-seasoned and severely overcooked. To their credit, the wait staff noticed we didn't like the food, but after sampling most of the menu and finding it consistently bad, there wasn't much they could offer us. Desserts weren't much better. We sampled a variety of them at each spot. There were some standouts (Canaletto's taramisu and Tamarind's mango posset) and the gelato wasn't bad, but other desserts were uninspired and badly executed. The chocolate tarts at both places, for example, were identical except for the flavour of the cup-and-a-half of sugar frosting piped on top. After terrible experiences at Canaletto and Tamarind, we cancelled our Pinnacle Grill reservations. We felt HAL's specialty restaurants were not worth the expense, especially when better food was available at the complimentary venues. We won't be trying them again on future cruises. BOTTOM LINE: Other than the noticeable (and understandable) cost reductions since the pre-COVID era, and our disappointing experiences at Tamarind and Canaletto, we were satisfied with our cruise. HAL's superlative service and unique itineraries will keep us cruising with them in the future, but I won't rush to try another Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam soon. Finally, I should add that we got an outstanding deal on our booking, paying far less than half the regular cost of the sailing. If we'd paid full price, we would've been even more unhappy with the food.
We just got off of the Eurodam after a seven day trip in the Caribbean. The ship is definitely showing her age. While they have maintained the public venues fairly well, there were issues in our aft cabin. There was a peculiar smell when we first entered that seemed to come and go. The deck chairs on our balcony had definitely seen better days and there was a lot of rust to be seen on the balcony itself. There were holes in the sheets and pillowcases. On the upside, the food was excellent…the best we’ve had on any cruise. All of it…Lido buffet, Pinnacle Grill, MDR was wonderful. The staff were extremely friendly and attentive. Captain Engle was present, friendly and engaged. The cruise director was perfect for this job…friendly, perky and everywhere!! The entertainment was good, especially the comedienne. It was easy on and off of the ship. Fans and some benches outside of the terminal where everyone congregates at disembarkation would be greatly appreciated as it gets very hot and congested waiting for busses, shuttles, etc. We had visited all of these ports on previous cruises so we did no excursions this time, just wandered around each port. All in all, a nice relaxing cruise.
With refined amenities and Holland America Line signature Mariner’s Dream bed gracing each elegant stateroom, the ship offers six grades of staterooms. Most are ocean-facing, many featuring teak-lined verandas for dining alfresco or private sunbathing.
Holland America Line invites you to dine "As You Wish". To savour Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires. Onboard, there are restaurants to suit every mood, along with the flexibility to choose the dining style you prefer.
Every day aboard a Holland America cruise ship brings a wealth of cruise activities and indulgences, along with the freedom to partake in as many — or as few — as you please. It's an opportunity to try something new that surprises you, every day. Dabble, discover, daydream — do everything, or do nothing at all.
Whether you want to workout in the Fitness Centre, learn yoga, pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatment, or enjoy a game of basketball, there's a perfect onboard activity for everyone.
Holland America Line's youth activities program, Kids Club, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Note: Kids Club is not offered on cruises of 25-days or longer, including all Legendary and Grand Voyages. We will offer a selection of children’s activities throughout these longer voyages for any children who may be onboard.
Safety Comes First
Safety is our primary concern and strict policies are in place for effective supervision. Adult guests are not permitted to remain in Kids Club unless attending to a special-needs child.
Please note: During voyages with a high number of families onboard, we will make all efforts to accommodate interested parties. However, participation in our program cannot be guaranteed. Hours of operation may change to better serve our guests.
